New Pilot

[CraigStothard]

Hi

I am a student pilot, and would like to ask all you old sweats for some help.

I enjoy all the practical side of flying, but finding the studying hard, as I am not very academic (I am a builder not a mathematician) and passed my airlaw after the second attempt(87%).

I feel happier in the cockpit than the class room!

as anyone got any advice for the exams?



Craig

[stuartforrest]

The exams are a bit of a pain but it is just a case of accepting they will take a bit of time to get through them. I used the Trevor Thoms books but after giving up flying for a few years and wanting to refresh myself I bought the Oxford CD roms and they are pretty good although a bit expensive. They do make it easier though than reading the books.

I have a set for sale second hand if you decide to go this route. Just personal message me!

[Gertrude the Wombat]

There's not really any maths except that it really does help to have a grasp of simple vector arithmetic (for forces on the aircraft and for wind drift calculations for navigation) (which, if you don't have it already, you should pick up in an hour or so if properly explained). The rest is mostly just learning stuff. So, as a trained mathematician who can't memorise stuff for toffee I didn't find some of the exams too easy ...

[AerBabe]

And, as someone with a degree and a half in biology, the only exam I breezed through was Human Factors. The others required a bit of graft.

I found that the exams became a lot easier after I'd about 30+ hours under my belt. It's much easier to relate facts to your own experiences. There's no rush to get through them.

[stuartforrest]

I agree. Like all things in aviation, the more flying time you have done the more you can relate what the book says to your experience. I have done 170 hours and only now are some of these things starting to make sense. There is just so much to remember.

[--o-o-0-o-o--]

Stuartforrest..... totally agree !!
I have all the Trevor Thom books and read these regularly, but at the time of exams and flight training....i found these a little hard to digest. I found the 'JAA PPL Confuser' very helpfull for exams.

[DBChopper]

Craig,

I would also recommend the PPL confuser, but as a back up to the Thoms etc.

As for the maths involved with the navigation, it will really only make sense when you start planning trips for real. Perhaps another PPL at the same school as you will help you plan a navex with them? Until you start actually flying cross country trips it is all a bit of a blur of numbers. Same applies to the Met, to some extent. See if you can get a bit of practical experience of checking the weather for trips under your belt (I'd recommend Avbrief on the 'Net) and it should all become clearer.

Best of luck (and remember, most of us licensed pilots may have passed our exams but we can't build to save our lives :ok: )

DBChopper
:cool:

[Gulf Julliet Papa]

You can get practice questions on www.airquiz.com. £3 per subject, and you get as many papers/questions as you like

[VisaGeeza]

The "PPL Confuser" is an absolute MUST HAVE. In fact it should be outlawed because it enables you to pass the exams without even bothering to read the Trevor Thom books!

[CraigStothard]

Thanks for all the advice.

I am enjoying the practical very much! and find myself looking forward to every weekend now! ( I have even stopped working saturdays to get more hours in!).

the guys are great at Compton Abbas, and I am always bugging the FI's for help and tips!

Just got to plod on!

thanks again

Craig

[mazzy1026]

I think that as you are enjoying the practical side so much, the theory will (hopefully) become more enjoyable too later down the line, thus definitely making it easier reading for you. It's the same with any studying, if you dint enjoy it, you wont be interested in it and may find it difficult and viceversa. Please dint rely solely on the Confuser, ok it is a MUST but should only be used as an extra to the content. Just MHO of course, but using the confuser alone will only help you pass the exams, not understand them (watch me get shot now.....)

Best of luck, and enjoy you flying,

Maz :ok:

[bar shaker]

Craig

Probably the best thing to do is book an hour's ground school for the hour before you do the exam.

You'll still need the background knowledge, but the subject will be explained in the context of answering the paper questions and that is often a different matter to understanding a subject.

[Circuit Basher]

Craig

As you're based at Compton, then one option for the ground school is to contact Derek Davidson (who advertises in most of the flying mags) - he's based in Bournemouth and offers 5 day intensive ground school courses. He's an ex CFI who I learnt to fly with.

However, the best advice is to work it all out for yourself by reading the books, then test yourself using the PPL Confuser (or airquiz.com) - do NOT use the PPL Confuser as your revision tool!

[AlexL]

Craig

I wouldn't base your assumption of all the exams on Air law - I've got 2 degrees, Bachelors in Engineering and a Masters in a Mathematical subject, and I also hated air law and found it difficult, so don't assume that 'acedemic' people have it any easier.

The other exams are very, very different. If you have a practical job as you do I would have thought that you will probably find the rest OK. Hell if you can cut the timbers for a hipped roof, then I would have thought the navigation vectors would be a piece of cake!

Try Airquiz.com for testing yourself and get the books. If you can't work something out then ask around the club, someone is bound to have a little trick way of remembering whatever it is. Above all, go flying! Navigation etc is a lot easier when you can relate it to what you are doing in the air.